Martin Green, the Government advisor on social not-care who called for the legalisation of ‘assisted suicide’, said he would insist on “absolutely clear safeguards” to protect the vulnerable. Since he argued that it was necessary to legalise ‘assisted suicide’ for those too frail to kill themselves, to whom was he referring? Perhaps it was doctors or other health employees who would be protected against prosecution for killing patients. Far-fetched? That is what the 1967 Abortion Act stipulated – it did not legalise abortion but protected doctors against prosecution if they carried out abortions under the ‘absolutely clear safeguards’ of the Act. Despite this, abortion has become known as a ‘woman’s right to choose’, and ‘assisted suicide’ has been marketed as a matter of choice – indeed, Martin Green has maintained that because patients are consulted about, for example, where they would like to die, they should be given the choice… Read more